The Make Birth Better Team
Make Birth Better is an organisation of experts who bring together extensive professional knowledge and lived experience to educate, support, research and campaign to reduce perinatal trauma and vicarious trauma to provide safe, inclusive and compassionate care for service users and staff. We envision a maternity care system where safety, equity, and compassion are not aspirations, but expectations. A system where every woman and birthing person, regardless of background, identity, or circumstance, receives respectful, evidence-based, and trauma-informed care, and where the professionals who support them are valued, protected, and empowered to deliver this care.
Co Founders
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Rebecca Moore
Rebecca works as a Perinatal Psychiatrist in London, dealing with infertility, pregnancy loss, anxiety, depression, OCD and trauma.
She’s got experience spanning over twenty years. She developed a particular interest in birth trauma, which led to founding the annual Birth Trauma Conference and Make Birth Better with Emma in 2018.
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Nikki Wilson
Nikki was the first CEO of Make Birth Better. She played a key role in scaling the organisation from the ground up, combining her lived experience of postnatal PTSD with a strong career in the charity sector. Her leadership is driven by empathy, advocacy, and a deep commitment to transforming maternal mental health.
Find out more
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Emma Svanberg
Emma is a Clinical Psychologist, writer, speaker and campaigner focused on systemic change for individuals and families. She founded The Psychology Co-operative – a network of psychologists who are dedicated to reducing harm in mental health care. She started Make Birth Better with Rebecca in 2018 and co-produced the Make Birth Better model along with our early stakeholders. She stepped back from her operational role in Make Birth Better in 2022, and is delighted to be part of the organisation as a Board Member.
Advisory Board Members
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Dr Saima Sharif
Saima is a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Lister Hospital, Hertfordshire, with over 15 years' experience. She specialises in fetal medicine, high-risk obstetrics and community gynaecology, providing compassionate care for complex pregnancies and accessible women's health services.
Saima is actively involved in digital health innovation, advising early-stage start-ups to ensure equity is central to new technologies.
Saima is deeply committed to addressing health inequalities, particularly for Muslim and South Asian women, and works with grassroots organisations and educational initiatives to empower women to advocate for their health within the NHS.
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Dr Aziza Sesay
Dr. Aziza Sesay is a GP, Educator, former Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer and medical broadcaster celebrated for her contributions to health education, awareness, and advocacy. As the founder of "Talks with Dr. Sesay," she empowers audiences with evidence-based health information, focusing on women’s health, cancer awareness, mental health, and health inequity. Dr. Sesay serves as Vice Chair and Creative Director of Black Female Doctors UK and is an Ambassador for leading health charities, including The Eve Appeal and Wellbeing of Women. Featured in major media outlets, she is a regular GP on BBC Breakfast. She has also collaborated with numerous organisations including NHS England, the Department of Health, YouTube Health, and WHO, contributing to national and global public health campaigns. Recognised with the prestigious Point of Light Award and others, Dr. Sesay is a trusted voice in healthcare, committed to improving outcomes and addressing health inequities.
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Caroline Potter-Edwards
Caroline Potter-Edwards has extensive experience as an NHS commissioner, most recently leading the transformation of perinatal mental health provision within the Kent Health Visiting Service as the first to embed the City Birth Trauma Scale, and has led the development of Perinatal Pelvic Health Services across Kent and Medway.
Caroline is deeply committed to improving the perinatal experience for women, birthing people and families. Her personal experience of birth trauma in 2019 has shaped her career and drives her passion for raising awareness of the psychological impact of birth among both professionals and families. She is delighted to join the Board and support Make Birth Better in its vital work.
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Dr Mari Greenfield
Mari Greenfield is a Research Fellow at the Open University, who specialises in using qualitative research to find out people’s experiences. After working as a doula for a decade, her PhD in 2017 examined the choices people made in pregnancies after a traumatic birth. She now researches both birth trauma and minoritised experiences of pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Mari has published a number of world-first findings about LGBTQIA+ people’s experiences of pregnancy and birth.
“What a ‘good birth’ looks like is different for everyone, but what they have in common is that the person giving birth was empowered and supported in their decisions. I want to work towards a perinatal system where everyone giving birth has that experience”
The Team
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Laura-Rose Thorogood
CEO
Laura-Rose is an LGBTQIA+, Maternity and Fertility Activist, educator, lecturer, writer and campaigner. She’s also Founder of LGBT Mummies, and has campaigned and influenced policies and law within UK Government and globally. Her own birth trauma lead her to this role. She is passionate about influencing systemic change to create equity and equality, especially for marginalised communities. She leads on our organisational strategy.
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Trudi Webber
Training Director
Trudi has over 15 years of project management experience, particularly in charity and corporate relationships in maternal health and education sectors. She has also worked as a childbirth educator, yoga for pregnancy teacher and doula for 20 years. She uses her extensive skillset to facilitate and improve our Make Birth Better (bespoke) training and its effectiveness.
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Natasha Williams
Associate Trainer
Natasha is a trauma informed Psychotherapist with nearly 30 years of working within social care and mental health provision. She brings a wealth of personal and professional experience, knowledge and insight in terms of Reproductive trauma. Natasha is passionate in advocating for change, particularly through effective training.
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Lauren Parr
Head of Operations & Community
Lauren is a business development and business support expert with a strong passion for well-being in the perinatal period. She’s also a trained doula, yoga teacher, retreat leader and book worm. She leads on the development of our online training products and support for our much-loved Champions and Organisation Partners. She’s an out-of-the-box thinker and has a knack for spotting business potential.
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Illiyin Morrison
Chief Campaign Ambassador
Illiyin is an award-winning, dedicated registered midwife, author (The Birth Debrief) and perinatal trauma specialist. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work and her unwavering commitment to maternal well-being extends beyond the birthing suite. She advocates for comprehensive postpartum care, destigmatising mental health challenges, racism and unconscious bias and fostering a supportive community for all parents.
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Lindsay Carpenter-Oliver
Advocacy and Bereavement Manager
Lindsay has over 20 years experience of working with families who have experienced Birth Trauma, within the NHS, Charity and private sector. She also has her own lived experience of birth trauma, baby loss and neonatal care and due to this has developed a deep passion for, not only increasing awareness and knowledge of birth trauma, but also improving care and support.
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Leah Lewin
Peer Support Lead
Leah Lewin is a Perinatal Specialist, International Speaker, Educator and Business Development Consultant for various charities, organisations and individuals working to improve maternal and infant outcomes. Leah Lewin has a keen interest in Black perinatal physical and mental health and is currently writing her first book on the intersections of intergenerational trauma in the perinatal period.
Our Make Birth Better Champions
Our champions volunteer their time and share their voice so we can make birth better for all
We have over 250+ Make Birth Better Champions who volunteer to support the work we do, and support the vision for the work Make Birth Better do.
This is a volunteer position and is flexible to suit the amount of time you have available, as well as your interests e.g. co-producing Make Birth Better work, local flyering, writing a blog, sharing lived experience, promoting @birthbetter online.
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To become a champion, a short on-boarding online training session must be completed. We then meet half termly online and provide bespoke resources to support the role.
If you’re interested in becoming a Make Birth Better Champion - please contact us - we’d love to have you.